Xeloda News

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1, 2017 – Cancer drug prices in the United States keep rising steadily, a new study says. "Regardless of competition or supplemental indications, our study found that there is a steady increase in costs of patented anticancer drugs over time," wrote the researchers. They included Dan Greenberg, an associate professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. "We believe ...

TUESDAY, Oct. 31, 2017 – The Cancer Moonshot Initiative now has a detailed road map designed to cram a decade's worth of medical advancement into half that time. A new report, authored by more than 50 leading U.S. cancer doctors, highlights 13 priority areas for improving the medical response to cancer, along with measurable goals and a specific timeline for meeting each of those objectives. The ...

TUESDAY, Oct. 24, 2017 – The high cost of cancer care in the United States has led more than one-quarter of patients to cut back on some part of their treatment, a new survey reveals. Commissioned by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the report found that 27 percent of cancer survivors or close relatives of a cancer patient said they'd skipped doctor visits or taken other steps ...

TUESDAY, Sept. 19, 2017 – Cancer therapies often change patients' sense of taste, which may affect what they like to eat, according to a nutrition expert. "Increased taste sensitivities are more common than a muting of taste," said Catherine Carpenter, professor of clinical nutrition at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. "Usually, the type of taste sensitivity encountered is one of a ...

THURSDAY, Aug. 17, 2017 – People who choose alternative medicine over traditional cancer treatments for curable cancers have a higher risk of dying early, researchers report. "We now have evidence to suggest that using alternative medicine in place of proven cancer therapies results in worse survival," said study lead author Dr. Skyler Johnson from Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center. ...

WEDNESDAY, July 19, 2017 – New cancer drugs routinely cost $100,000 a year or more, and older cancer drugs are rising in price, too. Now, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has some suggestions for easing patients' money woes. The proposals include allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, legalizing the importation of drugs, and adopting bundled, or group, payment programs. In ...

TUESDAY, June 20, 2017 – Childhood cancer survivors who had chemotherapy may have certain types of thinking and memory problems as young adults, a small study suggests. Belgian researchers assessed 31 young adults who had undergone chemotherapy. They were at an average age of slightly over 6 when they had the treatment. The researchers compared them with a control group of young adults who ...

TUESDAY, June 6, 2017 – Public-funded trials have significantly extended the lives of people diagnosed with cancer, according to new research. SWOG, the clinical trials network funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), has involved more than 200,000 patient volunteers. These trials have led to approval of 14 new cancer drugs and more than 100 changes to cancer care standards. All told, ...

WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2017 – A drug called Xeloda can extend the lives of some women whose breast cancer is not wiped out by standard treatment, a new clinical trial finds. Oncologists said the results are "practice-changing." "This drug is already approved, and we've been using it for a long time in cancer treatment," said Dr. Stephen Malamud, an oncologist at Mount Sinai in New York City. Xeloda ...

THURSDAY, May 18, 2017 – The chemotherapy drug Xeloda may prolong survival in those struck by a type of digestive system cancer, a new study finds. People with bile duct cancer who received the medication lived for an average of about 17 months longer than those who didn't take it, the researchers found. Based on the findings, the study authors suggested that Xeloda should be given routinely to ...

MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2017 – Treatment received in childhood to help fight cancer can have an impact on sexual health in adulthood, a new report suggests. However, the study also found that most adult survivors of childhood cancer report having satisfying sexual and romantic lives. "As positive as it is to see this, we still should be closely monitoring sexual health in adults who did have cancer ...

MONDAY, June 6, 2016 – The United States pays the highest prices in the world for generic and brand-name cancer drugs, a new study has found. However, as the world's wealthiest nation, the United States is better able to pay for those pricey drugs than poorer countries with somewhat lower medication prices, added study lead author Dr. Daniel Goldstein. People in China and India are much less ...

THURSDAY, May 19, 2016 – "Precision" cancer treatment that's guided by genetic clues from the patient's own tumor appears to outperform traditional chemotherapy, a new research review finds. Patients given precision – or personalized – treatment experienced a tumor shrinkage rate six times that attained by regular chemotherapy. But, that only happened if doctors used genetic information to ...

TUESDAY, May 17, 2016 – While powerful HIV medications are granting longer lives to many people infected with the virus, a new U.S. study shows these same patients are less likely to get treatment for cancer if it develops. It's not clear why the difference exists. It could reflect the decisions of physicians, patients or both. Whatever the case, the finding confirms that the gap persists even ...

MONDAY, May 2, 2016 – A type of psychotherapy might help cancer survivors deal with the long-term thinking problems some experience after chemotherapy, researchers say. It's estimated that about half of those who undergo chemotherapy for cancer develop what's often called "chemo brain." For instance, they may have trouble following conversations or remembering the steps in a project, according ...